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12 Aug 2025
Let’s play a game. Can you name three films set in European cities? Easy, right?
Now, what about the Middle East? Beirut, Cairo, Riyadh, Dubai? Bit trickier, isn’t it?
That is a completely understandable tendency — but it is also one that is surprisingly easy to change. And that is exactly what we are about to do.
We are diving into the ways our favourite Gulf cities come alive on screen through local films. And even if you don’t end up watching every one, you will still get a feel for just how cinematic these places really are. Think of this as a love letter to the region — even when the stories aren’t all sunshine and joy — told through the eyes of the filmmakers who know it best.
Beirut
It is a city that draws odes from around the world — but who better to show it than the directors who truly live it?
Nadine Labaki is one of them. What makes her films so powerful is the way they embrace contrast. In her works, Beirut is both a city of warmth, daily rituals and humour, and a place marked by chaos, hardship and survival.
One of her films, Caramel (2007), is all about love and lightness. At the heart of the story is a beauty salon — a small, intimate space far removed from politics and uncertainty, filled instead with laughter, gossip, and the kind of everyday joy shared between friends. It is the perfect film for a relaxed Friday night, full of Arabic humour, gentle romance, and life’s small, sweet moments. As Labaki herself once said, "Our responsibility is to use our art to help people who are suffering… especially in these troubled times." The film offers a portrait of Beirut that is warm, calm, and deeply loved — the version we all carry in our hearts.
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What does Beirut look like in Caramel?
A beautiful city of narrow green streets, soft pink facades, lived-in homes, and people who love it deeply.
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But Beirut isn’t just one thing. It has seen difficult times — and that, too, is part of its story. Labaki’s Capernaum (2018) explores another Beirut — one you won't find on postcards or tourist websites. It is a raw, emotional drama set in the city’s underbelly, where we see cramped rooftops, overcrowded flats, and neighbourhoods where refugees live day by day. Labaki worked with non-professional actors — many of whom had lived similar lives — which gave the film an authenticity that resonated around the world.
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What does Beirut look like in Capernaum?
Honest. Gritty. Real. A city full of struggles — but still full of heart.
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Cairo
Cairo is often shown through the lens of pyramids and desert sands (and sometimes people dressed as Nefertiti or Tutankhamun) — which, of course, is part of the truth, but one that feels quite… incomplete. The city can also be calm, soft, unmistakably Arabic — and even surprisingly green.
Cairo Time (2009) by Ruba Nadda is a great example of this. It is a quiet romance following Juliette, a magazine editor who travels to Cairo to meet her husband — only to end up spending most of her time with his former colleague, Tareq.
The atmosphere is full of longing and quiet beauty, gently revealing Cairo’s softer side. The production team was partially Egyptian — and it shows. The way the city is captured feels deeply personal, as if the people behind the lens know it intimately. Bustling scenes of Khan el-Khalili market, people sipping coffee and smoking shisha, beautiful architecture that hints at European styles — yet softened by carpets, Arabic signs, and local warmth.
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What does Cairo look like in Cairo Time?
A city of contrasts: green gardens and sandy pyramids, the slow drift of a sunset over the Nile, and the quick rhythm of everyday life. And above all, it feels warm — both emotionally and visually.
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On the other end of the spectrum is The Day of Women (2016, directed by Kamla Abou Zekri) — a film that offers a very different view of Cairo. There are no sweeping shots of mosques or the Nile here. Instead, it focuses on the textures of everyday life: narrow alleyways, rooftop terraces and rusted fences. At the centre of it all is a public swimming pool in a low-income neighbourhood, and the quiet revolution that unfolds around it — led by local women. For them, the pool isn’t just a place to cool off; it becomes a symbol of freedom, dignity, and self-assertion.
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What does Cairo look like in The Day of Women?
It is soft, warm, and undeniably real — with newspaper clippings on the walls, bursts of colours, and people who are loud, loving, and full of life.
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Dubai
And of course, we couldn’t leave out films set in Dubai — not just because many of us live here, but because we all have a soft spot for it: the skyline, the people, and that constant blend of energies.
City of Life (2009, directed by Ali F. Mostafa) captures all of that beautifully. It offers a portrait of Dubai as a place of contradictions — suspended between tradition and a fast-paced, Westernised lifestyle. But more than anything, it is about the people. A Romanian flight attendant, a young Emirati, and an Indian taxi driver — three lives that unexpectedly intertwine, each carrying their own dreams and struggles.
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What is Dubai like in the City of Life?
It is multicultural and layered — not just the glossy tourist attraction you might expect, but also the suburbs and narrow streets where life really happens. A city of global dreams and contradictions.
And finally, Scales (2019, directed by Sayidat Al Bahr). Filmed across Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, this story follows a young girl in a remote fishing village who has been rescued only to find silver scales slowly appearing on her body. Rooted in Gulf mythology, the film is quiet, poetic, and deeply symbolic.
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What is the setting like in Scales?
Harsh, raw, and deeply local. This isn’t the glittering skyline — it is the Middle East as we rarely see it: rocky shorelines, sparse landscapes, traditional stone houses, and silent courtyards.
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